Kirkwood residents demand safer Dougherty Ferry Road - traffic calming, pedestrian safety | ksdk.com

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Enough is enough. That's the message from neighbors in Kirkwood to the city, after another accident along Dougherty Ferry Road, right across from Kirkwood High School.

Neighbors said this stretch is notorious for crashes and has been a problem for years now, which is why they're asking the city for safety upgrades. . . .

Michael Carmody with Safer Streets of Kirkwood and St. Louis County said they've asked for safety upgrades for years due to the speeding along Dougherty Ferry.

Carmody sent a letter to the city on Monday calling for a public meeting. He laid out traffic calming measures recommended by the Federal Highway Administration that the city could implement. Some of those measures include things like reducing the speed limit, narrowing the roads or putting up median barriers along the sidewalk. . . .

The most recent speed study, according to Carmody, shows 85% of people drive 37 miles per hour on the road, when the speed limit is 30. He said if a pedestrian is hit at 30 mph, they have a 45% chance of injury or death, but at 37 mph, that risk climbs to 70%.

"We lobbied for so long, specifically for this street, to become 25 miles an hour, narrow the road and some other traffic calming measures, and it was just ignored. What we got out of it are these curve signs, which, it's a help, but it's one of many things they should be doing. These are not that expensive," he said.

Carmody added that for school zones or high-pedestrian areas, the Federal Highway Administration recommends 25 mph or less. . . .

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Kirkwood residents demand safer Dougherty Ferry Road - traffic calming, pedestrian safety | ksdk.com

MoBikeFed comment: Public works and traffic engineers are used to prioritizing motor vehicle speed and flow above all else in their design decisions.

That is changing, very, very slowly. But examples like Doherty Ferry Road show how much further the thinking needs to change in order to make roads safe for all users.

If you are interested in helping work for safer streets in Kirkwood & St Louis County, join the Safer Streets for Kirkwood and St Louis County Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/saferstreetsforkirkwood/